It's been crazy lately

Well!  My life has been super hectic lately and, while I usually enjoy being busy, this has been a wonderful mix of the good and the bad.  As I mentioned briefly in my last post, I went to ImagingUSA at the end of January - my 5th year!  This was my second time as a PPA member and bringing Damien with me to go to business classes meant I could attend lighting and posing seminars (aka the fun stuff).  I didn't really like Atlanta, especially considering how great and photogenic New Orleans and San Antonio were, but it was also cold while we were there.  If I'm going south, it should be warm!  One thing Atlanta does have though is FANTASTIC barbeque.  Seriously, I ate it non-stop, and there was a really neat little hole-in-the-wall near our hotel that had some of the most delicious pulled pork I've ever eaten.  At the Expo this year, I finally bought a floor!  This way I can lay it down on top of carpets or ugly tile and have beautiful baby pictures on a gorgeous wood background!  I tested it with my camera-friendly pets when I got home.

After getting home (and figuring out our car situation because mine broke) I was able to start shooting again!  First on the list was my friends Rev and Rose, a super cute couple I know.  He's a piercer and we have a great barter system.  It's always a good time photographing them because Rev knows the shots he wants and so is the art director, and once we get those, Rose and I are like "yay, let's play!"

I also stopped by The 3rd Annual Pittsburgh Rock Music Awards - turns out Liz Berlin of Rusted Root owns Mr. Smalls (I had no idea!) so I got to take some pictures of her playing in between awards.  Craig from The Pittsburgh Scene gave out the Best Alternative Awards and my friends Children of October got Best Punk Album which was really exciting!

After that, I had a (almost) 3 month/Valentine's shoot with a beautiful baby girl named Audrey.  She is ridiculously adorable and her mom Bonnie is so sweet and excited about her daughter.  We had a slight meltdown, but it happens and you just have to know how to handle it.  This is why I always schedule in some extra time for baby shoots - the kid is totally in charge!  I had recently knitted a couple baby hats, which Audrey modeled and looked super cute in.

Right about the same time, I hit 1,000 fans on Facebook!!  Sooooo excited about this, it makes me feel really loved and hopeful for the future of my business.  I had a giveaway of a free session, which was won by a guitarist I know.  I went to his house and photographed him for his website (he's a guitar instructor - go to http://www.patrickmaloneyguitar.com) as well as took some pictures of his new daughter Cambria.  She's about 2 months old and so sweet!  It's nice seeing my friends happy and being good, loving parents.

Mid-February, my friend Sherry, who lives in New Jersey, came to visit for almost a week!  I rarely see her for more than 2 or 3 days at a time so was really excited to get to actually spend a significant amount of time with her.  Neither of us realized when she booked her train that she got here on Valentine's Day, whoops.  Oh well, our boyfriends were probably glad they didn't have to buy us dinners.  Poor Sherry had to deal with me practicing makeup skills and taking her picture while she visited, but we also did things that were fun for us both, like go to a concert and the Aviary!  I've been wanting to go since I was about 16 so it was awesome.  Also, they have a sloth.   Seemed like a weird creature to have in an aviary but it was exciting to see, even though it was rather camera-shy.  The eagle with one wing was a bit heartbreaking, but absolutely beautiful.

Last week I got unexpectedly stranded at Damien's for a few days when his car (which I've been using until mine gets its new engine) needed repairs and it ended up taking a lot longer than anyone thought it would.  I vaguely suspect our mechanic hates us....we cause so much trouble for the poor guy.  Luckily, I was able to borrow Damien's grandmother's car to get to work Friday and my shoot on Saturday.  It was a milestone shoot - Zahara just turned a year old!  Her parents, godparents and I wandered around Phipp's Conservatory with her and had a great time.  Cute baby, pretty flowers, it was a good day.

River Runs Scarlet - Unhealthy Dose release

Last Saturday, November 27, was River Runs Scarlet's CD release party.  The 5-track EP is titled "Unhealthy Dose" and the cover was shot by yours truly.  My first CD cover!!!  It will not be the last.

Actually, all the pictures for Unhealthy Dose (back cover and band shots as well) were taken by me.  Cover model on the front is the lovely Trix, and the guy is either my cousin David or his friend Ricky.

The CD release party was held at The Venue at Harmony Ridge, where I took some pictures recently.  As a child, when it was still the Ambridge Country Club, I went there to play with my best friend Whitney.  As an adult, I've gone there first to work and now to celebrate the work done by me and my friends.  Work we did, and celebrate we did.

I attended the show with my fellow Cool Kids Colored Hair Club member Emily.  We'll be getting a house in the spring that actually isn't too far from Harmony Ridge and are super excited!!  My friend Kym, who I met through the previously mentioned Whitney, also came to the show so we all hung out.

It was a pretty great show.  Even DoRn, who rarely moves around, rocked out.

 
 McDade's drum kit looks pretty!

I love this picture of Aaron.

And Zosia, of course!  She looked lovely as always and has some mad hair action in this shot.

Guitarist Floyd Karma, Jr. works his stuff with a ghostly Zosia in the background.

Producer extraordinaire Bill even came all the way from California for the show!  Ok, that's not true, he actually came for Thanksgiving but definitely for this too.  Oh, and it's a bit hard to tell, but all the staff at Harmony Ridge wore River Runs Scarlet shirts.  It was definitely a nice touch!  Amazing show, amazing CD, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it.

If you want to see pictures from the recording process in Orange County this summer, you can check them out here.  http://elena-dee.blogspot.com/2010/07/adventures-in-california-with-river.html




And here's a special little extra for you RRS fans:  A sneak peak picture from the photo shoot we did the day after the release party!!

Zombie Prom!

Saturday night (May 29, 2010) at The Fallout Shelter was the first show I ever booked.  I mean, I had some help in the form of JJ Ulizio, who got me The Wakening, and Kevin Eaton, who ended up not actually booking anyone but was my sister's co-model for the flier and is generally a helpful guy.

The night started around 6pm, when Skeet, my co-bartender for the night, showed up so I could do his makeup.  He's bald so I gave him an open head wound with some brains hanging out.  This is him hanging out later in the night.

Mandy and Nate came by to get their makeup done as well.  Mandy is allergic to latex, so I could only use the grease paint on her, but Nate got the wound Kevin made the night before.  I set up my bloody backdrop so that I could squirt blood on people with the nozzle I put on my quart of blood.  No exciting lighting here, just my on-camera flash.

My own makeup took awhile, but not too long because I used a couple wounds I premade the night before on my collarbone (don't think I have a picture of that) and my ankle.  After a quick trip downstairs, I broke a pencil to stick in the ankle wound as an Evil Dead homage.

Kevin also went pretty crazy with his makeup.

I started work about quarter to nine and the first band was Fullmoon Renegades, from Ohio.  They play metal and were here for our Halloween show.  When I started looking for bands to play Zombie Prom, they had just messaged us saying they'd like to play again, so it worked out wonderfully!

Second on the lineup was Children of October, our "house punk band."  Sal (formerly of Modern Habit) wore his new white-out contacts!  I liked the red ones he used to have, but white is creepy too.

Having Skeet as a co-bartender worked really well because I could occasionally leave the bar and go take pictures.  We had a pretty good crowd, and while not everyone dressed as zombies, some did.  Some went pretty all-out with it and we even had a couple zombie hunters (JJ's friend Richie, Justin who actually might have been a zombie with a sword but I'm not entirely certain and DM who came with his girlfriend Kyna and a couple others from the Dethlehem crowd.  Look up Dethlehem, they're D&D metal at its finest.)

The third and fourth bands were Dead City Dealers, from New Castle, and The Black Marias, from England.  New Castle as in a town 40-or-so minutes from Aliquippa (where the Shelter is) and England as in the country.  Yes, The Black Marias were The Fallout Shelter's very first international band!!  And at MY Zombie Prom.  I was so ridiculously thrilled.

Yeah, The Black Marias are so old school punk it's amazing.   A lot of people left at their set though, which sucks for them, because the last band of the night was The Wakening, and they are AWESOME (thank you, JJ!).  Zombie surf, yeahhh.  I took way too many pictures of them and, with the help of Kevin, they designated a prom "queen" and king - Don (who was dressed as his alter ego Dawn) was the "queen" and one of their friends the king.

 

I consider it a successful night.  Next year we're going to make it even bigger, even better, even more prom-like and more zombie-like.  I wanted the Savini School to come do makeup, but was unable to get in touch with them, so next year will try harder.  It was SO much fun though, a great time.  We need more theme nights.

Oh!  Here's me.  You can't see my collarbone finger-holes wound or anything, just my face, but my eyes look good in this, so I'm pleased, even if it is a pretty lame self-portrait.